Council Minutes, March 2, 2020

Posted: March 2, 2020

City of LeRoy MN – Council Meeting Minutes, March 2, 2020

A regular meeting of the LeRoy City Council was called to order by Mayor Brian Thiel on Monday, March 2, 2020, at 6:30 PM at the LeRoy Community Center with the following members present:  Mayor Brian Thiel, Council Members Ashley Huntley, Jan Whisler, Harold Shipman, Daisie Fox, Maintenance Supervisor John Jones, and City Clerk Patty White.
Also attending: Cassidy Milks, Don Olson, and Axel Gumbel.  All present stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Consent Agenda:

  • Council reviewed the items included in the consent agenda.
  • Motion by Huntley, second by Fox to approve the consent agenda. Motion carried 5-0.

Public Input Time:

  • Don Olson introduced himself to the council and noted that he has been a resident of Wildwood Grove for the past three plus years. He reported there is a monthly resident meeting; the topic always comes up about the need for a backup generator for Wildwood Grove.
  • Olson reported the 20-year trust of the Leonard and Genevieve Oksanen estate was just settled. These trust funds were distributed evenly to the L-O School District and to the City of LeRoy in the amount of $75,530.03 to each entity.
  • Olson would like to see the City, Wildwood Grove, and the LeRoy Community Foundation work together to allocate funds for a backup generator for Wildwood Grove. Mr. Olson noted semi-annual interest from the Merrill Chesebrough estate is appropriated to the LeRoy Community Foundation twice a year.
  • Thiel thanked Mr. Olson for his time and input and noted council does have this on their radar and will be discussing it later during this meeting.

Standing Committee Reports:

  • Shipman reported Prairie Visions held their monthly meeting. The Shooting Star Bike Ride will be held on Saturday, June 20.  The ride will begin at the LeRoy Trailhead.  The various rides will incorporate the Shooting Star Trail, the Wapsi Trail, plus county roads.

Police Report:

  • The deputy was not present to give a report. White reported she had contacted Sheriff Sandvik about the City’s police protection.  He reported that Deputy Weiss is our new assigned deputy; he will have Deputy Weiss attend the monthly council meetings if his schedule allows.

Volunteer of the Month:

  • There will be a volunteer recognized at the April council meeting.

Council Committee Assignments:

  • The committee assignments of Councilor Gottschalk of Police & Public Safety, Personnel Committee, and Volunteer of the Month have not been assigned.
  • It was council consensus to appoint Councilor Daisie Fox to Police & Public Safety, Personnel Committee, and Volunteer of the Month committees.

Resolution of Support for RST Bonding Request:

  • At the January 30, 2020, meeting of the SEMLM, the membership voted to support the RST bonding request. It was requested of the member cities to pass a resolution to also support this bonding request.
  • Motion by Whisler, second by Huntley to pass Resolution 2020-04, a resolution in support of the bonding request for reconstructing Runway 2/20 at the Rochester International Airport. Motion carried 5-0.

 

City-Wide Cleanup:

  • It was council consensus to offer a city-wide cleanup day on Saturday, May 2, 2020, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM in the parking area north of the fire hall.

City Lawn Mowing:

  • Both Whisler and White had contacted Brady O’Connor from Blades of Glory, the gentleman that has been mowing the city parks and city cemetery since 2015, to see if he would be interested in mowing again for the 2020 mowing season. O’Connor reported he would be interested in this mowing and would stand by his rates from the 2019 mowing season.
  • White noted council could work with Mr. O’Connor, or the council could choose to put this out for bids.
  • Motion by Whisler, second by Huntley to approve Brady O’Connor dba Blades of Glory for mowing the two city parks at $80 each per time and the city cemetery at $365 per time. Motion carried 5-0.

Land Use Permits:

  • There were no land use permits for council review.

Communications File:

  • Council reviewed an invitation to the 16th annual Southeast Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths Workshop.
  • Council reviewed a funding request from the Mower County Fair Board. Council took no action on this request.

City Snow Removal:

  • Council reviewed the current parking ordinance. Council may consider revising the current ordinance to address parking and snow removal.
  • Council will continue to discuss this issue in the coming months.

Water & Sewer:

  • Jones reported a broken water main on East Lowell Street was repaired last Friday.

Wildwood Grove Generator:

  • Council further discussed the need for a generator at Wildwood Grove. White noted Wildwood Grove could be used as an emergency facility in case the City were hit with a large natural disaster where citizens could charge their electronic devices and get a warm meal.
  • White reported a preliminary estimate for a natural gas powered generator plus the electrical work would cost approximately $74,000.
  • Motion by Whisler to allocate the Genevieve Oksansen Estate Trust Funds to apply towards a generator for Wildwood Grove. Second by Shipman.  On a roll call of votes, all council members voted aye.  Motion carried 5-0.  Shipman recommended to council to apply to the LeRoy Community Foundation Chesebrough Funds for additional funds if needed.

Being no further business to come before the council, the meeting was adjourned on a motion by Huntley, second by Shipman at 7:12 PM.

– Brian Thiel, Mayor

– Patty A. White, City Clerk-Treasurer

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